Bord Bia Report Identifies Opportunities in Ireland’s Out-of-Home Market

The Irish foodservice market has grown from €6.13bn in 2014 to €6.37bn in 2015, and is forecasted to grow to almost €6.9bn by 2018. This market has benefited from the wider growth in the economy, rising confidence amongst Irish consumers, a strong international and domestic tourism market, a falling unemployment rate and the continuation of 9% VAT for hospitality.

Read more: Bord Bia Report Identifies Opportunities in Ireland’s Out-of-Home Market

Extension to the Organic Capital Investment Scheme to November 30th

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD, has announced extensions to the closing dates of tranches for online applications for the various TAMS II Schemes, as follows;

Read more: Extension to the Organic Capital Investment Scheme to November 30th

The Rise of Discounters Continues in the UK Retail Market

Michelle Butler, London Office Manager, Bord Bia – Irish Food Board

The latest Kantar Worldpanel grocery share figures, announcing a combined record share of 10% for discounters Aldi and Lidl, will continue to put pressure on the already squeezed middle. While the German discounters take share and continue to post double digit growth, those occupying the middle ground, namely Asda, Tesco and Morrisons, show no signs of improving their performance.

Read more: The Rise of Discounters Continues in the UK Retail Market

Hayes Launches €4.3m Investment Aid Scheme for the Commercial Horticulture Sector

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with special responsibility for Horticulture, Tom Hayes, today announced details regarding the 2016 Scheme of Investment Aid for the Development of the Commercial Horticulture Sector.

Read more: Hayes Launches €4.3m Investment Aid Scheme for the Commercial Horticulture Sector

Food Wastage Awareness Among Retailers

It was as far back as December 2014 when Woolworths launched ‘The Odd Bunch’ campaign nationally in Australia. The campaign is aimed at raising awareness of the national figure of 25% food wastage in Australia. As an incentive the customer is offered discounted prices up to 30% off oddly shaped or ‘ugly’ produce, which still tastes the same.

Read more: Food Wastage Awareness Among Retailers

Irish Winners at Speciality and Fine Food Fair

A number of Irish producers were award winners at the inaugural Irish Speciality and Fine Food Fair at the Food and Hospitality Ireland Show 2015 (formerly SHOP) at Citywest, Dublin from 16th to 17th September. This new addition to the Food and Hospitality Show is organised in conjuction with the Speciality and Fine Food Fair London, which takes place annually in Olympia in early September with over 700 exhibitors and is considered the key event for buyers and sellers of regional and speciality food and drink in the UK.

Read more: Irish Winners at Speciality and Fine Food Fair

Issues Influencing In-Store Bakery

A new report from Datamonitor on Trends and Opportunities in In- store Bakery looks at some of the global issues which are influencing the category.

The five key trends identified as most impacting the in-store bakery space are as follows:

Read more: Issues Influencing In-Store Bakery

Consumers Want More Choices and Technology Has A Role To Play

The trend towards ‘Customisation’ and ‘Have it your way’ seems to show no sign of abating, with news this week that a restaurant named PizzaBuzz has opened in east London, offering customers the option to customise their pizzas, salads and ice cream, with a choice of five fresh dough bases, a selection of toppings, and mix and match ice creams. Diners can also use the FlyPay app to make additional purchases.

Read more: Consumers Want More Choices and Technology Has A Role To Play

Squeezing Every Drop of Efficiency From Juice Processing

Plastic packaging made from the fermented wastewater of processed juice could save industry millions in production costs and tap into growing consumer demand for environmentally friendly products.

Read more: Squeezing Every Drop of Efficiency From Juice Processing

Amsterdam Foodology Case Study

The global food revolution is particularly striking in the Netherlands, with established brands unveiling glamorous new foodie concepts and small independent players experimenting with new ways to retail food for genuine convenience. 

Read more: Amsterdam Foodology Case Study

Drone giant DJI Launches Crop-Spraying Drone - BBC News

Billion-dollar drone company DJI is expanding from consumer and camera drones into the agriculture industry.

The Chinese firm's latest model is a crop-spraying drone, which it claims is "40 times more efficient" than manual spraying, despite having just 12 minutes of flight time.

It will be released in China and Korea where hand-spraying is more common.

Read more: Drone giant DJI Launches Crop-Spraying Drone - BBC News

Northern Ireland Companies Cook up a Storm in Major Food Awards

Enterprise Trade & Investment Minister, Jonathan Bell has congratulated Northern Ireland’s Food & Drink Industry on yet another highly successful year.

In this year’s Great Taste Awards, 69 companies were awarded 191 gold stars. In the Irish Quality Food Awards, 13 products from Northern Ireland companies gained category awards; 16 were highly commended and six were commended and in the recent Blas Na hÉireann, Irish Food Awards, Northern Ireland companies won a total of 45 awards.

Read more: Northern Ireland Companies Cook up a Storm in Major Food Awards

Teagasc Annual Report and Financial Statements

Teagasc advisory, education and research efforts continue to focus on assisting Irish farmers to improve the competitiveness of the sector globally and support sustainable farming systems.

Speaking at the publication of the Teagasc Annual Report and Accounts for 2014, Chairman Dr Noel Cawley said:”2014 was a good year for most farmers. Dairy farmers had a particularly good year, while winter finishing farms had a difficult time. By year end it was evident that dairy markets were on a downward trajectory. This trend has continued during 2015. ”

Read more: Teagasc Annual Report and Financial Statements

All Island Farm Safety Conference for Monaghan

An All Island Farm Safety Conference will take place in Monaghan on Thursday, 5th November. The event takes place in the Hillgrove Hotel, Monaghan from 10am to 1pm and is being hosted by the Health and Safety Authority and the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland, with support from Teagasc and FBD.

The event is also being supported by many member organisations of the Farm Safety Partnerships north and south including the IFA, Macra Na Feirma, ICMSA and by the Ulster Farmers Union.

Read more: All Island Farm Safety Conference for Monaghan

ROI Grocery Market Overview

New data from Kantar analyses the changing dynamics within the Republic of Ireland (ROI) grocery market and future growth trends.

The ROI market is currently valued at over €9bn and is extremely competitive. Tesco’s sales performance has turned around in the last year, and volume growth is now clearly established.

Read more: ROI Grocery Market Overview

Mushroom Market Continues To Show Some Growth

Recent Kantar figures show some interesting trends in overall retail in general, and in mushrooms sales in particular. The overall retail market was in very slight growth, less than 1% but in positive territory nonetheless. 

Read more: Mushroom Market Continues To Show Some Growth

Department Announces Interim Nitrogen and Phosphorus Statements Available Online

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine announced that interim Nitrogen and Phosphorus statements for the period January to June 2015 will be available online from this Friday 31st July to all farmers registered with agfood.ie.

Read more: Department Announces Interim Nitrogen and Phosphorus Statements Available Online

Coveney Strengthens Legal Protection for Irish Whiskey, Irish Poitín and Irish Cream

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney T.D. has introduced new regulations to protect the integrity a number of key Irish spirit drinks products.

Read more: Coveney Strengthens Legal Protection for Irish Whiskey, Irish Poitín and Irish Cream

NI Ministers Target Growth With Agri-Food Strategy Board

Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Michelle O’Neill and Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister Jonathan Bell today met with the Agri-Food Strategy Board to discuss progress on delivery of the strategic action plan for the agri-food sector, “Going for Growth”.

Read more: NI Ministers Target Growth With Agri-Food Strategy Board

Your Company/Product “Checklist”

Bord Bia followed the recent XIX Food and Drink Encounter, which was organized by IESE Business School and Deloitte in Barcelona. The aim of the meeting was to establish "how will we live and what will we eat in 2025, and what role will the food and drink sector play…”

Read more: Your Company/Product “Checklist”